After Cabinet meeting, Erdoğan announces 5% raise decision for retirees

The Presidential Cabinet meeting, chaired by President Erdoğan, has concluded.

President Erdoğan made a statement following the 4-hour meeting. Regarding the consecutive news of martyrs from the Claw-Lock Operation, Erdoğan said today that instead of narrowing cross-border operations, they will expand them even further.

An additional 5% raise emerged from the meeting, which retirees had been eagerly awaiting. Erdoğan stated, "We are taking a step to bring our retirees' monthly payments closer to each other. I would like to give the good news that we are making an additional 5% increase to SSK and Bağ-Kur monthly payments. We are raising the lower limit for pensions from 7,500 liras to 10,000 liras."

Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

"I pray to the Almighty that the new calendar year brings goodness to our country, our nation, and all of humanity.

I wish God's mercy upon our heroic soldiers who fell as martyrs in the Claw-Lock Operation region, and I offer my condolences to their families and our nation. I wish a speedy recovery to our wounded soldiers from the Almighty. Following the attacks, we spoke with some of our martyrs' relatives over the phone.

We have not left the blood of our martyrs on the ground. As a result of air operations conducted against terrorist elements in Syria and Iraq over the last 5 days, 114 targets were struck and 78 terrorists were neutralized.

"WE HAVE TORN UP AND DISCARDED THE SCENARIOS TO ENCIRCLE OUR COUNTRY WITH A TERROR CORRIDOR"

The strategy of eliminating terrorism at its source, which Turkey has been implementing with determination for some time, has disturbed those who want to establish a 'terroristan' in our region. This has manifested at times by mobilizing their apparatuses within our country, at times by accusing our country of being an occupier, by trying to corner us in the international arena, by spreading false information on social media, and by supporting treacherous terrorist acts. As Turkey destroys the ringleaders of the separatists wherever they feel safe, their attempts have increased even more.

Support in the form of weapons, ammunition, training, and protection has accelerated for the separatist terrorist organization. Even if some do not understand, with our cross-border operations, we have not only guaranteed the peace and security of our southern borders. We have also torn up and discarded the scenarios to encircle our country with a terror corridor. We have ensured that migrants who would have migrated due to the oppression of terrorists remain on their own lands.

"WE CANNOT ALLOW OUR COUNTRY TO FACE SUCH A DISASTER"

More than 620,000 Syrians with temporary protection status have returned to safe zones cleared of terrorism. The terrorist organization, which cannot recruit new militants and is constantly crushed under the pressure of our security forces, has not been able to find the opportunity to play its separatist role. Our military presence is of vital importance for the security of our homeland. There can never be a turning back from this. Turkey will either root out the separatist terror threat at its source or, as in the past, it will fight it within its borders, in the streets and neighborhoods of its cities.

We cannot allow our country to face such a disaster. We are obliged to fight to the end so that our children can grow up in a climate free of terror.

"AS LONG AS THERE ARE BLOODTHIRSTY CRIMINALS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA, OUR MINDS WILL NOT BE AT EASE"

Persistent declarations will serve no purpose other than to upset our nation, especially our soldiers serving beyond our borders. Turkey has shown very clearly and plainly with its successful cross-border operations that it will not allow surgery to be performed on its territory. It has overturned the calculations of those who constantly keep changing maps on the agenda and those who impose the Treaty of Sèvres. How to narrow down cross-border operations is not on our agenda. How to expand them is on our agenda. As long as there are bloodthirsty criminals in Iraq or Syria, our minds will not be at ease. As long as the imperialists' 'terroristan' plans are on the table, none of us can feel safe. Our operations in this region will continue until every inch of the mountains of Northern Iraq is made safe. We will not stop until we have completely dismantled all the terror nests established with insidious intentions on the line of Tel Rifaat, Ayn al-Arab, Hasakah, and Manbij in Syria.

"THOSE WHO WELCOME THE SEPARATIST ORGANIZATION WITH A RED CARPET JUST TO GET 4-5 MORE VOTES WILL OF COURSE ACCOUNT FOR THESE ACTIONS AT THE BALLOT BOX"

There are promises made to us regarding these places that have not been kept. No one can object to Turkey taking the necessary measures for its own security. Hopefully, in the coming months, regardless of who makes what threats, we will definitely take new steps in this direction. With new operations, we will not only hold them accountable for the blood shed by our martyrs and the lives we have lost, but we will also secure our future. Whoever they are, everyone will either stand with us or against us. There is no middle ground, no appeasement, no gray area, and no side to turn a deaf ear to in this matter. We are very clear, determined, and resolute on this issue. We believe it is our duty to completely destroy the terrorist organization along with its supporters abroad and its extensions inside.

I leave those who cause discord even on a national issue like terror, and those who attack our government with the theses of the separatist organization, to the public conscience. Those who welcome the separatist organization with a red carpet just to get 4-5 more votes will of course account for these actions at the ballot box. The parade of our 100 warships held in the Bosphorus is etched in memories. This parade has revealed who upholds the Republic and Atatürk's legacy, and who exploits it. The common feature of the peddlers who set up stalls in a wide area, from politics to media, from academia to culture and arts, is self-interest, hypocrisy, and insincerity.

"WE KNOW VERY WELL WHICH PAWNS ARE BEING USED TO DRAG OUR COUNTRY WHERE"

Doubts about Turkey's regime ended on October 29, 1923, with cries of 'Long live the Republic.' No one in our country has any doubts about the Republic. No one has a problem with the founder of our Republic. There is no issue with the integrity of the state, the unity of the nation, or the well-being of the country. Whoever tries to create space for themselves through these concepts is in a great mistake. Whoever is trying to turn these discussions into a source of political rent is at the very center of a great mistake. We do not forget that political and social engineering has been carried out in our country for a long time through such discussions that are made to appear as if they exist. We know very well who fuels these discussions, who benefits from them, and which pawns are being used to drag our country where. Some are trying to stage the same dark scenarios again.

The sudden reappearance of professional provocateurs here and there is probably not a coincidence. Whoever corrupts their intention and loses their way, what has been experienced in the last 10 years is enough to show what their fate will be. Even the bitter ends of the organizations used in this scenario, from FETÖ to PKK, are a lesson for those who know how to take it.

"OUR AGENDA IS ONLY TURKEY, WORKS, AND SERVICES"

The intention behind the regime discussion that is being tried to be revived during the period when we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of our Republic is very clear. It is aimed at distracting Turkey from its main agenda, closing it in on itself, and breaking its increasing effectiveness in its region and the world. We will not fall into the trap of those who want to bring Turkey back under the yoke of imperialists. We will not allow our time and energy to be stolen with artificial agendas. We will chase our dreams, not the imposed agendas. Our agenda is only Turkey, works, and services. There is reaching out to the oppressed and holding the hand of the fallen.

"EVERY GLOBAL CRISIS BRINGS NEW OPPORTUNITIES"

We are minding our own business. We are running day and night for the construction of the Century of Turkey. With this understanding, as a cabinet, we are implementing our program step by step in a wide range from education, health, security, justice, transportation, urbanism, culture and arts to foreign policy, family, youth, and sports. Hopefully, we will continue our path with the March 31 elections with democratic maturity and the Century of Turkey agenda. We have left behind a year in which we struggled with the reflections of the difficulties that emerged in our country. Global growth is expected to occur at low levels over the next 5 years, and losses associated with this are expected to increase. We will hopefully continue to grow by remaining strictly committed to our own goals. Every global crisis brings new opportunities for Turkey to move up to higher ranks. I believe that we will always keep our growth rates above expectations for the coming years. In the meantime, we are implementing the investments we promised to our citizens in our government programs one by one.

EARTHQUAKE REGION

We would not trade the value that 26 separate road, rail system, airport, and satellite projects, which are still under construction in transportation alone, will bring to our country for all the empty discussions the opposition wants to drag us into. The issue we care about the most is that we have reached the highest level in our history with 32 million people in employment. We need to pull the unemployment rate, which we have reduced to 9%, even lower. Our employers will be able to use the opportunity to train the qualified workforce they need in their own workplaces under more flexible conditions. We had already lifted the obligations of workplaces in the earthquake region after February 6 regarding these courses and programs.

For the same cities, the employer obligation period for courses and programs for 2024 will be applied as 1 fold, and the employment commitment as 30%. Our goal is to ensure that the labor market in our cities affected by the earthquake recovers as soon as possible. We are covering the damages of our citizens whose animals perished in the earthquake.

RETIREE PENSION RAISE DECISION

We are working with all our might to improve the welfare level, especially for our employees and retirees. We have partially achieved this with the raises we made to worker, civil servant, and retiree salaries. Hopefully, we will continue to keep our promise not to crush our employees under inflation in the coming period. With the calculations we made in the last months of last year, we made a payment of 5,000 liras each to all of our 16 million retirees. Our working retirees also received 5,000 liras. We never leave our retirees in a difficult situation. For the first 6 months of 2024, there was an increase of 49.25% in civil servant retiree salaries, and 37.57% in SSK and Bağ-Kur. Since we see the discomfort this increase caused among our retirees, we are taking a step to bring them closer to each other. I would like to give the good news here that we are making an additional 5% increase to SSK and Bağ-Kur retiree monthly payments. SSK and Bağ-Kur retiree [raise] increases to 42.6% as of January 2024. Together with the increases in July, all of our retirees will receive salary increases at approximately the same rates. The annual increase rates of all our retirees, without distinguishing between civil servant, SSK, and Bağ-Kur, will be equalized next July. In the salary increases in the second half of the year, the imbalance will be eliminated as civil servant retirees will receive the inflation difference while SSK and Bağ-Kur retirees will receive the difference.

We are raising the lower limit for pensions, which we have implemented, from 7,500 liras to 10,000 liras. After receiving the approval of our Parliament, we want to reflect the increases to our retirees' salaries as soon as possible. We want to offer the additional resource of 200 billion liras to the benefit of our retirees. I wish all these increases to be beneficial to our country and our nation.

We are declaring 2024 as the Year of Retirees. On this occasion, our goal is to put into service new services that will improve the quality of life of our retirees and expand their social rights. May these services, which spread over a wide range, be beneficial to our retirees from now on.

"WE BROKE THE RECORD IN THE HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC IN EXPORTS"

Last year, we exceeded our targets in exports and broke the record in the history of the Republic. There is a visible closing in the foreign trade deficit. Hopefully, we will achieve this as well, just like our previous targets. It is understood that the 2023 figures will also be very good in tourism. Of course, we will not compromise on fiscal discipline. Despite the increased expenditures due to the earthquake, we managed to keep the budget deficit below the projected level."

News Source: AA